Helping Hand
by Eternal Soldier
Summary: When Reid still can't decide whether or not to go to Rossi's for dinner, and still needs to deal with the thoughts running around his head, it's Derek Morgan who steps up to help him begin to move on. Reid/Morgan slash, tags for '7x02' Proof.


_A/N: Every time I watch 'Proof' (online, sadly, season 7 still hasn't started in Australia, and they still haven't said when it will start) I think that Reid moved on from that whole issue with Prentiss and JJ a little too quickly. I mean, surely he talked extensively about this to somebody, right? And since I watch Criminal Minds with my slash goggles on (namely my Reid/Morgan slash goggles) and since Morgan is Reid's best friend, I always thought it would have been Morgan he talked to. So this is pretty much my 'what if' that happened, like a missing scene- except, of course, it's Reid/Morgan slash. So sit back, relax, read and enjoy! :)_

_Warning: Spoilers for 7x02 'Proof', and probably spoilers for the season 7 premiere 'It Takes a Village' as well._

_Disclaimer: See my profile._

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><p><strong>Helping Hand<strong>

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><p>Even after talking with Prentiss, Reid had no idea whether or not he'd be going to Rossi's for dinner. He <em>wanted<em> to forgive Prentiss and JJ, (and Hotch to a much lesser extent), and a part of him knew that it was stupid to hold a grudge. He'd even gone as far as to lay out the clothes he was going to wear. But still, Reid had no idea whether he was _ready_ to forgive them yet. So, he sat on his bed, still dressed in his work clothes, his mind flying in a million different directions as he tried desperately to decide what to do.

A rather long, loud and insistent knock at Reid's front door jolted him out of his reverie. He was in half a mind not to answer it but got to his feet anyway, grumbling all the way. He knew it was most likely a member of the team; probably Hotch, or maybe even JJ or Prentiss. And he had a pretty good idea of why they were there.

"If you've come to try to drag me to Rossi's, I'll have you know I still haven't decided whether or not I'm going yet, so-" Reid stopped dead, once he caught a proper view who was standing on the other side of his door. "Derek," he said in surprise, using the other man's first name without really thinking.

"Hey, Spencer," Morgan said softly. "Can I come in?"

"I, uh- yeah, I guess so," Reid stammered, feeling a little flustered. Morgan was the last person he was prepared to talk to right now. He stepped aside, allowing Morgan to enter his apartment before closing the door behind him.

"I take it you weren't expecting me," Morgan said, looking at Reid.

"I thought you were Hotch or JJ," Reid told him. "I wasn't expecting it to be _you_ standing there."

"Ah." Morgan looked Reid up and down. "You haven't gotten changed," he realised.

"Like I said before I realised it was you, I haven't decided whether or not I'm going yet," Reid said.

"I'm going," said Morgan, as if that simple fact alone would sway Reid.

"I knew you would," said Reid. "You were the one who found Prentiss after she'd been stabbed with that piece of wood. The entire time we thought she was dead, you've been carrying around this massive feeling of guilt, thinking you could've done something, _anything_ more to save her. Even though you were angry at what Hotch and JJ had kept from us, the relief that Prentiss was actually alive was so huge, you could never really hold a grudge against them."

"But it's not that easy for you, is it?" Morgan said. Reid, not really wanting to elaborate, nodded. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really," said Reid.

"Come on, pretty boy, it's me," Morgan said in a soft, pleading voice. "And besides, it'll help. You know it will."

Reid opened his mouth to protest, but sighed when he realised that Morgan was right. And if Reid really admitted it to himself, it was Morgan's use of his affectionate nickname for the younger man that had swayed him. "Okay," he said. Morgan held out his hand, which Reid happily and instantly accepted. Morgan led Reid through his own apartment, back into the bedroom where his clothes were lying. He guided Reid onto the bed, still holding his hand, and looked the younger man in the eye.

"Can you tell me what's going on in that big brain of yours? Please?" Morgan asked with a tone of concern in his voice.

When Morgan spoke to him like that, Reid could hardly refuse him. "You know I went to JJ's crying for the first ten weeks after, right?" Morgan nodded, knowing that that was all Reid needed to keep talking. "I was an absolute mess, and she knew that. She saw how torn up I was, and how badly I was handling what happened to Prentiss, and she didn't do anything about it. She's my best friend, and she could've done something about it so easily, and she didn't."

Morgan squeezed Reid's hand. "Come on, Spencer, I know there's more to it than that. _You_ know there's more to it than that."

Reid didn't move, and Morgan was afraid that he'd pushed Reid a little bit too far. Just as Morgan thought that he should say something, Reid opened his mouth. "JJ and Prentiss both know how badly I handle people leaving me. They both know, and yet they didn't do anything about it. They… they knew how I would feel if and when Prentiss came back; they _knew_ I wouldn't handle it well. Prentiss may have tried to apologise, but JJ didn't even _try_ to explain herself. There were times when I didn't think I could take it anymore, and she could've-" Reid's voice caught in his throat, and Morgan could see the tears gathering in the genius's eyes.

"Oh, pretty boy," Morgan whispered. "Come here." He held out his arms, and Reid almost fell into them. He rested his head against Morgan's shoulder, and as soon as Morgan began stroking his hair he let the tears fall. He really _needed_ to cry over this and he may not have wanted to cry in front of Morgan, but Morgan was the only one who would truly understand; the only one who could comfort him properly, and the only one Reid knew wouldn't see him any differently or see him as weak because he cried.

Reid had no idea how long he sat there in Morgan's arms; he had no idea he'd even stopped crying until Morgan wiped away the remnants of Reid's tears with his thumb. "Spencer, I felt hurt by them too, when I found out," Morgan spoke up. "But even then, a part of me knew that they wouldn't have kept this from us if they didn't have to. We are a family; and I know that trust has been frayed, but we can be whole again. And even if you don't think you can go back to the way things were with JJ and Prentiss, you can at least try."

"I know, Derek," Reid said softly, pulling away from the other man's shoulder. "I know they did what they did to protect Prentiss, and us, and while I was hurt by that, I… I want things to go back to the way they were before all of this. I know they can. I just… I needed time, to process this."

"I see you're already starting to move on," Morgan said with a nod towards Reid's clothes on the bed, trying to lighten the mood a little.

"This was just in case," Reid said, but the sadness in his voice was already starting to fade. He looked over at the clothes again, and a small smile appeared on his face.

"So will I see you there tonight?" Morgan asked.

"We'll see," was Reid's reply, but both men knew that he was leaning towards coming. Morgan smiled and squeezed Reid's hand before getting up to leave. "Derek?" Reid said when Morgan had reached his bedroom door.

"Yeah?" Morgan said, turning back around.

"You know how much you mean to me, right?" Reid said, getting to his feet and moving to stand in front of Morgan.

"Of course I do, pretty boy," Morgan replied, reaching out and stroking Reid's face. "Because you mean the world to me too."

Reid leaned into the touch, letting out a sigh before he spoke again. "I think, if I do come, I'll need more than my best friend tonight," he said.

"But the team don't know about this yet," Morgan said, surprised.

"I know," said Reid. "But if we're going to rebuild our trust, we can't be keeping secrets from them, as well. I'm not a hypocrite. And besides, I don't want to hide the thing that makes me happier than anything else anymore."

Morgan smiled. "Then we won't hide tonight, pretty boy," he declared, leaning in and pressing a gentle kiss to Reid's lips. "I'll see you later."

*********CMxSRxDMxFF*********

Even though Rossi had started the cooking lesson and Reid wasn't there, Morgan wasn't worried or sad about the genius's absence. He wasn't surprised, either, when the doorbell rang while Rossi was talking. He knew exactly who it was, which was why he was the one who volunteered to get it. He answered the door with a huge grin on his face, leading Reid silently into the kitchen, where the younger man took his place beside JJ. And when Reid smiled at JJ, and touched his wine glass against Prentiss's, Morgan knew that Reid would be okay. Maybe not yet, but he would be soon.

It wasn't until the team was moving around and were about to start cooking for themselves, that Morgan reached out and took Reid's hand. Prentiss was the first to look at them and notice, and the rest of the team soon noticed too. None of them said anything, though. They realised what this was, why Reid and Morgan were revealing this secret: it was the beginning of rebuilding the team's trust, a sign from Reid and Morgan that they could and would forgive what had happened. They would be able to go back to normal, because they had each other to help them.

"I love you, Derek," Reid whispered.

"I love you too, pretty boy," Morgan whispered back. And when he kissed Reid, the rest of the team couldn't help but smile.

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><p><em>AN: So what did you think? Like I said, I always thought there was a scene missing in this episode, so I thought I might try and fill in the gaps with what I _wish_ had happened! :P And also, maybe this better explains why Morgan instantly leapt up to get the door- because he knew it was going to be Reid and he was very happy to see him :P I'll be very happy to hear what you all think of this! :)_

_Oh, and I also have a poll on my profile, asking which one of my currently in-the-works multi-chapter fics you would like me to publish first! Be sure to go and vote! :)_


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